This invention relates to an electronic means by which people can select the exact seat or seats they want for any type of event or reserve an appointment for any activity such as a doctor or dentist appointment or even an appointment to have their car lubed. More specifically, a customer or a ticket re-seller or a venue operator can go, for example, to the internet and select the event or activity for which he wants a ticket or tickets or reserve a time, and reserve and order the exact seat or seats or the time of his choosing directly online. The seat or seats or reserved time he selects is then removed from the inventory for that activity or event and made not available for any other buyer and such is so indicated by a graphical representation or other such indicator on the online map or picture representing availability of seating or time for that event. For an appointment reservation, the user connects to the internet or other wide area network, such as a bulletin board, from his home or office computer and connects to a page that displays a reservation calendar with which he can interact, such as to reserve a specific time period for himself.